Featuring Kelly :: A Blogger’s Quilt Festival Quilter!

Thinking about the year to come, and this space, I decided that I needed to reinstate my features of other quilters! My pool of quilters is large with the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, and so I spent an hour looking through entries, and emailing a number of quilters that I liked, and you all seemed to like as well. (linky stats!) If there is a quilter you would like to nominate and learn more about, from the most recent BQF, drop me a note with a link to that blogger, and I will add them to my list. (Just use the contact form above)

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Today’s featured quilter is Kelly. Kelly blogs at My Quilt Infatuation, and has some beautiful quilts to share, along with more about her. I hope you enjoy getting to know Kelly better ::

1. When did you begin quilting?

I actually made my first quilt about 15 years ago, and followed that up immediately with two more. These were just very simple patchwork quilts, and not what I would consider modern at all. After that, I took a break from quilting completely for about seven years while my family went through two cross-country moves, I got my Masters degree, and we welcomed our son. I jumped back into quilting when I found the modern quilting community online a little over four years ago and have never looked back!

2. Why do you quilt?

Quilting is my stress reliever and my creative outlet. Playing with fabric and designing my own patterns keeps my mind occupied in a positive, productive way, and actually energizes my mind after a hard day. I also like to think that quilting serves as an example to my ten year-old son on how ideas can be dreamed up and willed into creation with hard work. He hasn’t ever shown any interest in sewing, but I hope that the lessons still hold true for the creative endeavors close to his own heart.

3. What is your favorite quilting tip?

People always ask me “How do you get so much accomplished?” Well, I have to say that my best quilting tip isn’t really a quilting tip at all, but a time management one. I try to spend at least a few minutes each day working on a project- even if it’s only 15-20 minutes. Those little minutes add up! A second tip I can offer is to quilt without fear. Easier said than done, I know, but try to remember that everyone makes mistakes, and nobody’s quilts are perfect. I spent far too long on the sidelines of free motion quilting, worried that I would “ruin” my quilt. Finally taking the plunge was so freeing, and now I wonder why it took me so long. Whatever your particular fear is- just do it!

I have always loved rainbow quilts in every form. When I set out to make Shattered Rainbow, I really wanted to break away from laying the colors out in stripes, and because I had lots of gray scraps, I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate gray into the mix. I feel like the gray patch in the quilt looks kind of like a hole in the rainbow, as though someone has thrown a baseball through a window, shattering the colors around it.

5. Do you sew other things?

You know, my husband pokes fun at me because I make all of these quilts, but I can barely sew on a button. I have never sewn so much as a cute little zipper pouch, a tote bag, or an apron, and I honestly have no real desire to. I am a bit of a one-trick pony when it comes to sewing, but I’m good with it. I do what I like, and I like what I do.

6. Anything else you would like us to know about you?

Last summer, I started writing and selling my own patterns, and to my surprise, I enjoy the design part of the process just as much as creating the actual quilt. It it fulfilling in a different kind of way, but still very rewarding.

Hi I'm Amy! Here's what you need to know about me - I love to sew! I learned to sew garments as a girl, then taught myself to quilt as a young mom. I've been writing books and patterns for the last five years, and hope to inspire you in your own quilting journey!